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rotator cuff injury

Hello, everyone. I wanted to share that I added a new entry to my personal health journal post (for the first time in a long time — Yes, I’ve gotten a bit flabby and lazy over the last few months, but I’m back on track now.)

Have you heard of a site called “Fitness Blender“? They have a YouTube channel with hundreds of free workout videos that are really great, from what I’ve seen so far. Click here and scroll down to the December 21st journal entry to learn more about these free videos and about how I’m on the road to recovery with a probable torn deltoid muscle in my shoulder…without surgery–yay!

(I’m not saying you should not get surgery if you severely injure your shoulder. I was just wanting to avoid it for myself, personally. It has taken over a year, but I think I’m very close to a successful recovery.)

Have a great day, and take care of your health!

Oh, and please share in the comments below any free exercise videos that you enjoy using. I’d love to try new routines. Thanks!

What a tremendous blessing it is to have good health, to have the energy and ability to go about daily tasks and enjoy simple pleasures!

Periodically, I have been adding information to a health journal of sorts. The post has gotten so tediously long that I decided to give it a fresh start in this new post today.

Click here to view the original post if you’d like to read about appreciating your health, hypothyroidism, food obsessions, motivation to exercise, diet plans, health-related jokes and videos, Oxycise, essential oils (especially frankincense), or shrinking tumors and scars. I went back and labelled the sections to make it easier to find each topic.

~~~ May 9, 2016 ~~~

My hubby and daughter have spurred us all into a lifestyle change (hopefully)! What began as a five-day raw-vegan experiment has been expanded into at least a 45-day plan intended to change our diets for the long-term.

For five days, we ate only raw, whole fruits and vegetables, along with some nuts and seeds. By the end of day one, my husband’s stomach was smaller and softer (meaning less indigestion), and his recently-acquired ulcers had stopped bothering him. (By the way, a spoonful of honey or a few ounces of aloe vera juice will help heal ulcers if taken a couple of times per day.) By the fourth day, I had much less hypothyroid “brain fog” and more energy. My daughter, who had been experiencing headaches 4-5 days per week for the last month, had not a single headache after going on the raw vegan diet.

With such great results so quickly, we put our heads together as a family and extended our dietary experiment. Here’s the plan we are following:

11. Optional: add occasional junk foods & sugary foods

My husband wanted to reintroduce dairy as soon as possible, but I talked him into pushing it farther down the list to keep it out of our systems longer. I have suspected for years that I have a slight problem with dairy, and he may, too, since he craves it as much as I do. I’m expecting that dairy is the main culprit adding to my health problems, and it will probably have to be permanently eliminated for me. Here’s hoping I’m wrong!

We began this journey on May 1st, so right now we are in the middle of step #2. So far, I’m feeling better and more energetic each day! (I should mention that, in addition to the dietary changes, I’ve been taking walks, gardening, and doing Oxycise 3-5 days per week.) I may stop the diet plan at #8 and limit the rest to holidays and vacations, if I have them at all. I truly want to be healthier and feel better!

~~~ June 1, 2016 ~~~

[more about the raw vegan diet plan with progressive additions]

We began eating fish today (step #7), and things are still going quite well. We regretted combining soy and wheat on step #4, so we tried each one for 3-4 days and pushed the addition of eggs back a day.

I’m thrilled to note that I did not have any noticeable problems during the five days of eating dairy. I dedicated a couple of days to cheese and a couple to milk and had no problems. Hooray! So now I’m guessing my past problems from hypothyroidism and exhaustion were related to junk/chemicals, salt, &/or simply overeating. We’ll see as the experiment progresses. My husband’s stomach seems to disagree with having cheese in it (milk did not bother him at all), so he plans to limit it in the future. Other than that, none of us have had adverse reactions to anything we’ve added so far.

I’m also excited to say that although I have not kept up with my exercises as often as planned, I am still gradually losing weight while eating about as much as I could want each day. The only times I’ve gained a pound were when we made a creamy cheese sauce for pasta, and I “cheated” and added too much salt to my plate. More fresh fruits and veggies the next day helps shed the water weight, though.

This has been interesting, and so worth it!

My husband is exploring processed vegan foods. My opinions: Wheat hot dogs = disgusting! I couldn’t get one bite down! Wheat/veggie burgers = not bad at all, as long as the cook isn’t distracted when the grill suddenly flames up and chars one side of them. Lol Falafel “meatballs” and falafel chips = wonderful!

I personally don’t care to go any further with the experiment, but I will continue to support my family (or else I’ll be in big trouble with my daughter! ha ha). Since we finished with homeschool last week, I’m really enjoying venturing into the garden in the cool of the morning for fresh breakfasts of sugar snap peas, strawberries, raspberries, edible flowers, and carrots. Blissful!

~~~ June 24, 2016 ~~~

[RESULTS of the raw vegan diet plan with progressive additions]

The diet experiment is over, and the results are in. The basics I’ve learned are that brazil nuts don’t like me at all if I eat a handful on an empty stomach, dairy (surprisingly) doesn’t seem to bother me, and sugary junk makes me feel gross after going two months without it.

I was weak and craving sweets today, so I gobbled down two sour cream cake doughnuts and a glass of chocolate milk. I feel like I could throw up. I don’t know why I caved and bought that today. I know it’s not good for me!

I want to make processed, sugary junk food a thing of the past and take better care of my body. I want that bursting energy and clear-mindedness back that I had the first week or two of our healthy-eating experiment! “If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it” (Proverbs 25:16).

~~~ December 21, 2016 ~~~

[recovering from shoulder injury, free exercise videos]

The second half of 2016 has flown by! As far as diet, I’ve been keeping sugar intake low and incorporating whole foods into my diet every day (when I can keep my family away from restaurants! It’s so tempting!). After several months of laziness and working on special rotator cuff exercises for my injured shoulder, I’m finally getting back into an actual exercise routine this last month.

Setting aside time first thing in the morning is definitely the best method for me to make sure I actually complete my exercises each day. Using Oxycise breathing methods and simple cardio and body weight routines for 20 to 40 minutes, 5-6 days per week, has made a huge difference in my body composition and energy level.

It’s been 15-16 months since I injured my shoulder (possibly tearing the deltoid muscle), and it’s still not quite back to normal. I quickly learned not to push that shoulder to the level of discomfort at all when exercising and not to think “It’s well enough now to use it to lift this 50 lb bag as long as I mainly lift with my strong arm…” Nope, that doesn’t work because I reinjured it and set myself back several times over the past year.

After babying it for months, faithfully doing rotator cuff rehab exercises, and taking L-Lysine* and Vitamin C, I’m to the point now where I can use the shoulder enough to begin building muscle back onto it. I’ve looked a little funny with the overused, healthy shoulder being full and round, while the injured one looked like a bony knob. I’m cautiously on the way to evening out now — hooray!

*(L-Lysine is an amino acid that’s good for sports injuries. It also helps you recover much faster if you get shingles!)

The main reason I’m adding to this health journal today is to tell you about an exercise YouTube channel I discovered last week called “Fitness Blender.” The videos are created by a husband and wife team (Daniel and Kelli) who have years of experience as personal trainers. The routines I’ve tried so far are great! Here’s a simple beginner workout I completed this morning that was very relaxing:

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Most of the photos on this site were taken by Merry Hearts Medicine (except the few that are public domain and all the ones credited with a name and link). I put a lot of time and effort into them, so please respect copyright laws regarding the material on this blog.
~~~
I'm adding this copyright statement because you may be just like I was when I first began blogging: I thought nearly any photo on the internet was free to grab and use as I please. After blogging and dabbling in photography myself, I understand why people feel so proud and protective of their work.
Thanks!
~~~
Click here to learn more about copyrights.
~~~
Click here for info on finding photos you can use without copyright infringement.